Nigeria moves to become gateway to AfCFTA, signs MoU with Vietnam
Nigeria moves to become gateway to AfCFTA, signs MoU with Vietnam
Nairametrics | 6th December 2022
By William Ukpe
The Nigerian government, in a bid to boost trade with South East Asia and maximize the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, has announced plans to make $336 billion exporter Vietnam use Nigeria as a gateway into the African market.
This was disclosed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in a statement on Monday night following his ongoing state visit to one of Asia’s largest exporters. The Nigerian government also stated it will support Vietnam’s quest to establish relations with ECOWAS and is prepared to sign, specifically trade and industry agreements. Vice President Osinbajo stated that there are vast opportunities for cooperation and collaboration between Nigeria and Vietnam, especially in the digital economy space.
He said, “We have a growing telecoms market, possibly one of the deepest penetrations of telecoms in the developing world. A large percentage of our citizens use telecom equipment or devices. Our broadband connectivity has also vastly improved. He stressed that Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and this puts the country at the centre of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which opens up trade in what will become the world’s largest free trade zone.
“We think Nigeria as the gateway to the rest of Africa is strategic, and we hope that with some of the collaborations that we will be able to sign, specifically trade and industry agreements, we believe Vietnam will see the opportunity in using Nigeria as a staging post into AFTZ. “Nigeria will certainly support Vietnam’s quest to establish relations with the Economic Community of ECOWAS” he noted.
The vice presidents of both countries witnessed the signing of a defense cooperation agreement on Monday evening as Ambassador Hassan Adamu Mammani signed for Nigeria, and for Vietnam, Deputy Minister of Defence Snr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien.
